


All Roads Lead to You

by tessafreakingvirtue



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 06:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20925857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tessafreakingvirtue/pseuds/tessafreakingvirtue
Summary: Jordan was the first to notice when Tessa went missing.





	All Roads Lead to You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short story inspired by a dream relayed to me by vmalways (on instagram). We need a little happy among all the sadness.

Jordan was the first to notice when Tessa went missing. 

It happened sometime after the speeches, after the surprise performance by The Arkells. It happened after they’d cycled through what felt like a million photographs of Tessa with Scott, Tessa with their family, Tessa on her own. 

Her sister’s green eyes had been alive with appreciation as she’d studied the crowd over the podium. Her voice had cracked, trembled, and she’d been around Tessa long enough to know what would follow. The way she swallowed, cleared her throat, she was trying to bury the rising emotions inside her, and it had sent Jordan into her own tears. 

She’d dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, watching as the little girl she’d watched grow from an infant into the most decorated ice dancer of all time tried to collect herself, tried to get through the speech she’d undoubtedly rehearsed a hundred times without once allowing her voice to break. But it was different now, she knew. She’d heard Tessa say it once: _It’s different when you’re up there speaking. It makes it real._

She wasn’t alarmed when she couldn’t find her sister in the washroom or in any of the adjoining rooms where the media had set up cameras and equipment. She wasn’t concerned when her calls and texts went unanswered. The Virtue women were nothing if not responsible, and when she mentioned Tessa’s absence to their mother, she received no more than a simple shrug of her slender shoulders. 

It wasn’t until she passed by Scott’s family and heard the worried chatter of his parents that the gears in her head began to turn. 

_Have you seen Scott?_

_Where did he go?_

_He’s not in the washroom, either._

In a rush of memory, Jordan thought of the conversation she’d had with Tessa the evening prior. Her sister had sounded rushed over the phone, occupied. When she’d questioned her about it, Tessa had laughed and made a noticeable effort to steady her breathing. 

“Let’s go somewhere this weekend,” Jordan had pleaded. She knew these events were triggers for Tessa; the stress of standing in front of family, friends, and strangers, expressing emotions that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with on her own. “Pack a bag. We’ll go to the cottage and we’ll be back by Monday.”

There had been hesitation in her sister’s reply, she could see the matching green eyes in her mind as they darted, her brain considering the invitation. 

“I… I can’t,” she finally responded, her voice softer. “I can’t this weekend. I’m sorry.” 

“Next weekend, then,” Jordan had insisted. 

“Jordan,” Tessa had sighed, suddenly no longer sounding like the child she’d dragged around in a doll stroller behind her bike, no longer her baby sister, but the woman she’d somehow grown into. “I can’t. I’m sorry. We’ll catch up again one day, I swear.” Tessa had gone quiet, and in her mind’s eye Jordan could see her sitting on the edge of her bed, worrying her lower lip between her two front teeth. “There’s something I need to do. Something I can’t wait any longer to do. Do you understand?” 

Of course Jordan hadn’t understood; she couldn’t possibly make sense of her sister’s vague response. But there was an urgency in Tessa’s voice that she somehow couldn’t deny, something that told her that it was a basic human urge that she could understand if only given the chance. 

“Of course,” Jordan had said, blinking. “Yeah. We’ll catch up another time.” 

She heard the breath of relief from her sister, could visualize her shoulders sinking in reprieve at the ceasing of her questions.

“Tess, whatever you’re doing… it’s going to make you happier?” 

She couldn’t be sure why she asked it, didn’t know why she felt the bubble of anxiety that had been rising in her chest burst at the smile that she heard in her sister’s voice. 

“Yes,” Tessa had responded, her voice stronger, clearer. “It’s going to make me much happier.” 

As Jordan stood now amidst the bustle of their friends and families, the smiling faces that had gathered to celebrate the achievements of the little girl that had become a national treasure due to her extraordinary talent on the ice, Jordan sighed. 

When her mother turned to her expectantly, it was all Jordan could do to keep the smile from pressing across her lips. 

“They’re together,” she murmured, Scott’s family turning to face her at the revelation. “Tessa and Scott. They left together.” 

“How do you know?” Kate’s eyes went wide with the question. 

“She told me, Mom,” Jordan shook her head, closing her eyes with the realization. “She told me and I didn’t even realize it.”

“Well where did they go?” Scott’s mother stepped up beside her, glancing confusedly at the small crowd of his family as they gathered. “When are they coming back?” 

“I don’t know,” Jordan met her eyes. “Maybe they don’t even know.” 

*

“Where are we going?” Scott turns to her, propping himself up on one of his elbows. His chest is bare, his skin smooth and hairless. 

Tessa turns her head, her dark hair sprawled on the shocking white of the hotel pillowcase, the alabaster skin of her neck and shoulders on display. He wants to lean in, kiss her there, never stop kissing her. He can see the swell of her breasts beneath the thin sheet, stops himself from running his thumb over them. 

“Where do you want to go?” 

Her voice is soft and quiet, no trace of the distress that had altered her speech earlier that afternoon at the Walk of Fame ceremony. The tears in her eyes are gone, a lazy, contented smile pressing across her bare lips. 

“Anywhere,” he responds, “as long as I’m with you.” 

She laughs, and it’s like the tinkle of bells. It reminds him of all of those interviews over the years, the ones where she was overcome by giggles, the ones where he could do or say anything and it would elicit pure joy from her. He’s missed that laugh. 

“Pick somewhere,” she begs, and she’s still grinning. They’re in bed together, neither of them wearing anything but the thin white sheet that’s draped across their bodies. Even that feels like too much of a barrier. 

“Mmm, Vancouver,” he suggests, pressing a kiss against her temple. She laughs again, her fingers pressing against his chest. 

“Too close,” she denies him, “the point is to get away for a while. Let things die down.” 

It’s the reason they left their cell phones behind, the reason they rented a car. They need time away from everyone, just until things settle. Until they can figure this out, even though there’s no doubt in Tessa’s mind that this is what she wants, what she’s always wanted. 

“Sochi,” he suggests next, and she smirks. 

“Too many bad memories,” she shakes her head. “Somewhere else.”

He doesn’t argue, leans in and presses his lips to the tip of her nose.

“PyeongChang,” comes the predictable proposition.

She laughs then; she can’t help it. They could name any country, any city in the world and chances are it contains some of their history. They could close their eyes and point to any spot on a map and it would tell a story about their two decades together. They will make new memories together in this unfamiliar territory of commitment and certainty.

“Paris,” she says, and she doesn’t even need to wait for his response. Of course he’ll go. He’ll follow her anywhere in the world. He has now for twenty-two years. 

“Paris,” he repeats after a brief moment, confirming her decision with a kiss. 

They book a flight the next morning and are gone by evening. They spend a few weeks or a few months (there’s no hurried sense of time any longer) lounging in a Parisian apartment, getting to know each other’s minds and bodies all over again. After a week, she sends one postcard to her mother and another to Jordan; she laughs because the postcards are photographs of Moulin Rouge. She thinks Jordan will appreciate that. On the back, she writes simply: _I’m so happy. I love you. I’ll see you soon._

They’ll return to Canada eventually; their homes and families are too important to them to stay gone for long. Maybe by the time they go back, Tessa will be wearing a diamond ring. Maybe that won’t happen until after they’ve settled back into their lives. 

They don’t skate anymore, not professionally, but when Christmas comes, the city of Paris installs a temporary ice rink on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. There’s so many people, so much going on, that no one pays them any attention as they stroke side-by-side, their blades cutting the ice. 

Their hands link, fingers intertwined. 

Twenty-two years after he started, he’s still holding her hand.


End file.
